Combination water inlet and soap dispenser for washing machines



June 1953 1'. T. wooDsoN ,643,537

COMBINATION WATER INLET AND SOAP DISPENSER FOR WASHING MACHINES FiledSept. 1, 1949 Ficgl.

Inventor; Thoma-s T Woodso I r I r is Atorne Patented June 30, 1953COMBINATION WATER INLET AND SOAP DISPENSER FOR WASHING MACHINES ThomasT. Woodson, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a.corporation of New York Application September 1, 1949, Serial No.113,614

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved combination water inlet means andsoap'dispenser for automatic washing machines.

In certain domestic types of washing machines, automatic timing meansdirect a program of operations, among which are soaking, washing andrinsing. In such machines, means are provided to accommodate a charge ofsoap powder or other detergent material, placed in the machine at thestart for automatic introduction into the washing soak water and therinsing water is avoided. Ex-

amples of a soap dispenser and a water inlet system are found in mypresently pending application Serial No. 623,991, filed October 23,1945, for Powdered Soap Dispenser for Clothes Washing Machines and nowPatent 2,523,800, dated September 26, 1950, and the application of FrankA. Rosenkrans et al., Serial No. 789,406, filed December 3, 1947, forTrap for Water Supply to Clothes Washing Machine, both of which areassigned to the assignee herein. The Rosenkrans device discloses a waterinlet system having a suds trap or water seal to prevent the outflow ofthe suds which build upin large volume within the tub. Although thesedevices satisfactorily perform their intended functions they arerelatively costly and obviously require individual application to thewashing machine.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide acombination soap dispenser, water inlet system, and suds trap which isinexpensive to manufacture and install and will perform its severalfunctions efficiently.

This broad objective may be attained by molding a unitary structurehaving an enlarged chamher into which the spouts from the hot and warmwater valves discharge, and a U-trap communieating between said chamberand an outlet in registry with an inlet opening or conduit through whichwater flows to the machine. The chamber receives the charge of soappowder or the like, which may be fed from outside the machine. Therespective spouts are so arranged that the warm water stream will passover the soap pile directly into the trap, whereas the hot waterdischarge will undermine the soap pile and flush it through the trapinto the machine. The chamber presents a large area open to theatmosphere, and by positioning the lower edge of the respective spoutsat least one inch above the maximum overflow spill level of the chamber,anti-siphonage requirements of the plumbing codes may be met. The U-trapfunctions efiiciently as a suds trap.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of awashing machine partly in section showing my combined soap dispenser andwater inlet system in its relation to the water valve and the soappowder inlet; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the washingmachine with certain portions being broken away to more clearly revealthe underlying structure; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 butshowing the introduction of water directly into the basket of thewashing machine.

The drawings show so much of an automatic washing machine as isnecessary for an understanding of the invention. Illustratively thewashing machine is of the well-known commercial type disclosed andclaimed in my Patent 2,523,800 and in which an outer casing l conceals atub 2', which comprises a water receptacle into which the water forsoaking, washing and rinsing is initially fed and from which it passesto a basket disposed within the tub, and within which the clothes areactually washed. At the completion of the various operational stages,the

water returns to the tub, from which it may again be pumped to thebasket or discharged to a plumbing drain, according to the stage ofoperation.

A pair of water valves 3, 4 are suitably mounted on a bracket 5 forconnection with hot and cold water services (not shown). The operationof said valves is controlled by individual solenoids t which areappropriately energized to suit the operational cycle established by atime-cycle switch (not shown), as is well known in the art. The valve 3will be considered to be the warm water valve, thermostatically orotherwise arranged ior a water discharge temperature of, say, 100 F.;'whereas valve 4 is the hot water valve arranged to discharge water at atemperature of the order of 140 F. As is well known to those familiarwith washing machine operation,

warm water is used for soaking and rinsing and either hot water or amedium temperature water arrived at bythe conjoint operation. of valves3 and 4, is used for washing. In other words, during soaking and rinsingonly valve 3 is in operation whereas during washing either valve 4, or

valves 3 and 4 jointly, may be used. The valves have the respectiveindividual spouts I, 8.

The discharge from the valve spouts enters the tub by means of thecombined inlet system and soap dispenser I comprising the presentinvention. The device is advantageously molded from rubber compositionsor equivalent to have walls II, I2, I3, I4 which,'with the wall of thetub collectively define a chamber I5 of relatively large floor area andheight communicating by means of an upwardly disposed elbow portion I6with a tub wall opening I8. An extended flange provides means by whichthe device may be secured directly to the wall of the tub 2 by theillustrated screws or equivalent means. The flexibility of the unit isadaptable to the tub curvature.

For charging the chamber I5 with soap, I provide a funnel-like structure2I suitably affixed to the top wall 22 of the outer casing and closed bya hinged orremovable cap 23. As appears from Figs. 1 and 2 the dischargeend of said funnel overlies the chamber closer to walls II and I2 thanto the tub wall, and particularly is remote from the mouth 24 of thetrap I6. Thus soap powder entering the chamber will arrange itself in apile 25 :in which because of the normal, predictable, angle of repose ofthe dry material there will be a substantial depth of material at walls.II and I2. The bottom wall 13 slopes toward the trap and merges intowall I2 through a smooth curve; and there will thus inevitably be somesmall accumulation of soap powder near the trap because of the travel ofthe granular material as it first enters the chamber.

It will be noted that the nozzle I extends relatively close to theforward wall I4 and the tub wall, and is directed to reach over the soappile and discharge water substantially directly into the trap mouth 24.The :nozzle 1 preferably has a circular mouth, so that its dischargewill be a concentrated stream; splashes forwardly of the nozzle willstrike the sloping wall I4 at an angle and be deflected directly intothe trap I6, and drips or rearward sprays will not enter the pile ofsoap powder. The slight overhang of the upper edge of wall I 4 guardsagainst the splashing of water over said edge. .In contrast to the roundstream from spout I, the spout 8 has a flat nozzle portion intended todirect a fanlike stream of ,water over substantially-the width of therear wall I2 to discharge relatively close v thereto. The fan-wisedischarge from spout 8 therefore will enter the soap pile at 'the rearthereof and intermix thoroughly therewith to convey it along the bottomwall I3 into the trap I6 and thence into the tub 2. In practice the hotwater flow continues long after the soap has been evacuated, so there isno substantial residue within the chamber, and none in the trap water. IV

The tub wall opening I8 is, of course, well above the maximumwaterjevelin the tub. .However, where said port is below the blanket ofsuds of substantial depth which will accumulate during operation, thesuds will tend to :force their way out through the tub wall opening. Insuch situation, the trap I6 serves adequately to prevent suds escapethrough the opening IB. The position of said opening establishes thetrap water level; and it is obvious that in order to prevent submergingthe bottom portion of the soap pile the floor I3 of 'the chamber must besuitably above said level. My consideration of thisproblem indicatesthat with .the'relative proportions shown in Fig. 1 an adequate waterlevel is assured.

In some forms of washing machines, the water is introduced directly intothe basket 26 of the washing machine. In this arrangement, a suitablenozzle 21 may be fixed to the tub wall at its opening I8, to extend in ahorizontal or downwardly sloping reach over the upper rim of the basketto discharge directly thereinto, as shown in Fig. 3;

As is well known, many plumbing codes require protection against thepossibility of the submersion of any potable water faucet or nozzle inwater or liquids which may be contaminated, and have required a minimumair gap of at least one inch between the lowermost end of such a nozzleand the maximum overflow spill level of any receptacle which may containcontaminated water. The present invention provides adequately for suchprotection because of the large overflow area at the top of the chamberI5 and the ease with which the ends of the spouts l and 8 may be fixedto provide more than the necessary one inch clearance level. It is to beconsidered .in viewing the drawing, therefore, that nozzles 1 and 8 arerelated to the maximum effective height of the chamber wallssufficiently to establish the necessary clearance, with due appreciationof the relatively small meniscus effect of soapy or otherwisecontaminated water.

While ,I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, itwill beunderstood, of course, that 'I do not wish to be limited thereto sincemany modifications may be made; and I therefore contemplate by theappendedclaims to cover any such modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

What I-c1aim as 'new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent-of theUnited States is:

1. Ina clothes washing machine, the combination of a receptacle havingwater inlet means, means providing a combined soap container and waterconduit fixed relative to the receptacle through which the same may befilled to a predetermined level, said soap container and water conduit:providingmeans including a chamber of relatively large floor area anddepth and a U-trap communicating between said chamber and a dischargemeans registering with said inlet means, means accessible externally ofsaid washing machine .to receive soap powder or the like and deposit thesame within said chamber remote from the entrance to said trap;means-including a pair of spouts .for discharging water into saidchamber for passage through said trap into the receptacle, one of saidspouts reaching over the pile of deposited'soap powder and adapted todischarge water substantially directly into said trap with minimumpickup of soap powder and the second spoutadapted to discharge waterinto said soap pi'leto create a turbulent mixture of soap and water forpassage into said receptacle, and independently operable shutoff valvesfor said spouts.

2. 'In a washing machine, a water receiving tub, a' detergent receptaclewith upstanding side walls and a floor of relatively large area-saidreceptacle having an'out-let in one corner thereof below the level ofsaid-floor, means accessible externallyof said washing machine toreceive comminuted detergent and deposit it in a pile within saidreceptacle, said receptacle outlet communicating with said :tub abovethe normal water level in said tub, a water supply system for said tubcomprising a first-and second spout above said detergent receptacle anda separately operable valve for each of said spouts, said first spoutbeing positioned for water discharge directly into said receptacleoutlet, said receptacle floor being within the pattern of discharge ofsaid second spout, and said first and second spouts being fixed relativeto said chamber to establish the lowermost level of said spouts at leastone inch above the top of the lowermost side wall of said receptacle.

3. A water and detergent supply system for a clothes washer tub,comprising a receptacle arranged to provide a combined detergentcontainer and water inlet conduit, said receptacle having a slopingfloor of relatively large area and a wall extending upwardly from theuppermost edge of said fioor, dispensing means above said receptacle todeposit comminuted detergent in a pile on said floor near said wall,said receptacle having an outlet below the level of said floor andremote from said wall, said receptacle outlet communicating with saidtub above the normal water level in said tub, a first spout forsupplying water for soaking clothes, a second spout for supplying waterfor washing clothes, said first spout being positioned above saidreceptacle outlet to discharge water directly thereinto, and said secondspout being positioned above said receptacle and having a flat nozzleportion to discharge a flat spray of water against said receptacle wallto create a fanwise discharge across said receptacle floor.

4. A Water and detergent supply system for a clothes washer having a tubwithin which clothes may be selectively soaked and washed, comprising areceptacle adapted to provide a combined detergent container and waterinlet conduit, said receptacle having a sloping floor of relativelylarge area and a wall extending upwardly from the uppermost edgethereof, dispensing means above said receptacle to deposit comminuteddetergent in a pile on said floor adjacent said wall, said receptaclehaving an outlet below the level of said fioor and remote from said walldisposed for discharge into said tub at a point above the normal washwater level in said tub, a pair of discharge nozzles with one thereofhaving a flat nozzle portion for forming a fiat water spray, and meansincluding said discharge spouts operable selectively to discharge waterdirectly into said receptacle outlet to provide water for soaking saidclothes and to discharge said flat water spray on said receptacle floorand adjacent said wall to create a fanwise discharge across said floorto provide water and detergent for washing said clothes.

THOMAS T. WOODSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,038,260 Ash Apr. 21, 1936 2,228,914 Pierce Jan. 14,19412,372,770 De Remer Apr. 3, 1945

